Sometub's cruise on the C. & O. canal : The narrative of a motorboat vacation in the heart of Maryland

A modest kitchen‑crafted motorboat named “Sometub” sets off on a bold inaugural voyage up America’s historic waterway network. Built from a knock‑down frame in a home workshop, the little 15‑foot craft is fitted with an early Evinrude engine and a makeshift cabin, turning skepticism from onlookers into quiet curiosity. The narrator’s dry humor recalls the doubts and cheeky nicknames that followed the boat’s birth, while celebrating its daring design and the promise of cheap gasoline‑powered travel.

The journey begins on the Allegheny River, snakes through six navigable waterways, and includes a lengthy over‑land portage that tests the crew’s patience and logistics. Along the way, listeners are treated to vivid snapshots of 1910s scenery—sunlit vistas of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, bustling river towns, and the quiet rhythms of towpaths once trod by mules. The early part of the cruise weaves together technical ingenuity, nostalgic commentary on early American travel, and the simple pleasure of seeing the landscape as the first pioneers might have done.